Day 20/29 Days of Giving is…
So. Um. Yeah.
I totally lost track that Friday was indeed Friday, and here we are on Sunday doing what should have been up on Friday, despite realizing on Saturday that Friday had indeed past, and, well ... can we just pretend it's Friday?( I'll forever wonder how that happens; how days tend to run into themselves and so on... the older I become, the more frequently this seems to happen. I can't be the only one this phenomenon occurs with...am I?) Oh - Back to the whole pretending thing - we're now officially pretending it's Friday ... you just arrived here, totally psyched for the weekend and a giveaway... woo-hoooo!
Go ahead -- do the lil' woo-hoo thing out loud.
Ya know you wanna.
Aw c'mon -- justSHOUTit -wooo - hoooo!
{ Sorry, there I go rambling. A-gain. }
Psssssst...
I'm going to divulge a wee-lil'-secret about moi.
Though, y'all prolly have figured this out by now.
Heck, I've probably mentioned it.
You see, I'm incredibly anal.
Yes, my name is Chrysti - and I'm a perfectionist-aholic.
I believe, and thrive on the fact... that everything has its has place.
Oddly though, I'm not very uptight personality wise. It takes alot to offend me, and when I work, paint, cook, create... I'm messy as all hell. I just tend to need it all tidy before I can begin. Strange isn't it?
Worse yet, I enjoy making a huge mess. To be free. To create without constraints, to deconstruct - and I love; I abso-friggin'-lutley love, love, love demolition. Have cabinets you need smashed? Gimme a call!
Maybe I have some hidden anger issues or sumthin'..who knows, who cares! It's fun!
It is my firm belief that this is an essential trait to creating of any kind -- the willingness to let go, and not merely the willingness but the desire to make things - well, ugly. Yes! U-G-L-Y. You know - To not analyze, to learn to tap into that unconscious part of your brain where you really focus on the process. Gosh, don't you ever just want to stop thinking, be fabulously mindless and genuinely live in an artistic moment? Don't worry about how you measure up.... just create simply and purely because you love to..and for some of you, because you have some misguided notion that you can't. We're all creative. It is just a matter of acknowledging that, and accepting it.
I should be clear about this, as it's where I seem to differ from lots of folks -I have no trouble with letting go, and just trying something. I rarely hit those creativity blocks lots of folks speak of, the pressing issue for me is typically whether or not I can justify the time to haphazardly create with reckless abandonment. I hardly ever give myself the permission to just... play. I need an excuse, some sort of mythical 'purpose' .
Enter this glorious book that I discovered last year:
Wreck This Journal: by Keri Smith
For anyone who's ever wished to, but had trouble starting, keeping, or finishing a journal or sketchbook comes Wreck This Journal, an illustrated book that features a subversive collection of prompts, asking readers to muster up their best mistake- and mess-making abilities to fill the pages of the book (and destroy them). Acclaimed illustrator Keri Smith encourages journalers to engage in "destructive" acts-poking holes through pages, adding photos and defacing them, painting with coffee, and more-in order to experience the true creative process. Readers discover a new way of art and journal making-and new ways to escape the fear of the blank page and fully engage in the creative process.
I love making the time to work in this book. I love that I can spend just a few minutes adding to it. I love that I am letting it be horridly ugly. I love the release I obtain after an exercise in it. Forget therapy kids - just wreck a journal! The plan, for me is this: Once I have totally uglified all the pages - I shall then challenge myself to make them pretty, because I love a challenge - only to destroy it again. It'll be interesting to see how I do deconstructing something I will one day (hopefully) adore.
Dontcha wanna take this journey with me? One of you definitely will be as it's the giveaway for the day!
While I could go on & on singing the praises and benefits of creating in a reckless manor- and I plan to, in a later post after the giveaways - I thought I'd intrigue you today by showing you some of my pages throughout this post, and pointing in you the direction of other inspiring pages and videos that will have you wanting this faster than you can say beetle. (no, i have no idea why I chose the beetle there, i know, i'm nuts)
- Go here to see the pages I've started in my copy on Flickr.
- This is a Flickr group where lots of different folks share their pages -- eye candy galore.
- Some of the exercises can't just be photographed, you have to see videos to believe it!
- Of course, there is an offical website for it as well.
- Buy it, like now.
Check out this video I found on youtube for an even better idea of what is inside this book - you'll need an idea of this to enter the giveaway! Ohhhh... I nearly forgot - I have a bit of exciting news! I ordered a video camera, that should be arriving this week (hello online workshops) - so look forward to seeing a video of some of my ventures with this fabulous book too!
So to enter today's super-fab giveaway:
- On this post; in the comments - answer one or more of these questions: Tell us one way - no matter how crazy - you can think of to wreck a journal page - if you're afraid to do this, then share why!
- Do this by: Sunday, January 31st, 2009
- PLEASE keep Spreading the word! Blog it, Tell your friends — the works! I’m amazed daily at the impact this project is having on people. I want it to be contagious, plus it fuels me to make it bigger & better!
- Enter Day 0 still!
- Check out the first batch of winners, the second batch of winners, third batch of winners anddddd the fourth batch of winners!
Recklessly yours, Chrysti
{P.S. Speaking of perfectionistic. It's KILLING me not to go edit this post and re-word it right now. I am intentionally leaving my writing..well, messy too. Ick. Yuck. Someone take my mouse before I fix it all.... HURRY!}
